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On March 8, thousands of women joined today to celebrate a very important date: International Women’s Day. To raise awareness about modern feminine issues, as well as the impact women have on the economy, women from all over the world participated in A Day Without Women.

This specific march was similar to the one held on January 1st, called Women’s March. However, it focused more on the economic, as well as political and social contributions that women provide everyday to their countries and the world, contrasting the more politically-driven march earlier this year.

There is not as many estimates on how many people marched on March 8th as there are on January 21st, but schools in several districts cancelled classes for the lack of female teachers who were absent, an action encouraged by the march to show solidarity and support for the cause.

“School in such places as Prince George’s County, Maryland; Alexandria, Virginia; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, canceled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out”.

The German airline Lufthansa had six all female crew flights traveling across the globe on International Women’s Day, and the Swedish sports teams wore tweets by Swedish women on their jerseys. Even countries where freedom to petition and freedom of assembly are more heavily regulated participated in the march, including Istanbul, Japan, and Spain.

Common phrases during the march were “Resist like a girl” and “Nevertheless she persisted”, the latter being a quote from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who silenced Senator Elizabeth Warren during Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions’ nominee debate.

Many of these marches and events have been in response to Donald Trump’s election, who has been criticized for his rhetoric about women, including the leaked audio from Access Hollywood.

Although some interpret and say that these marches are politically driven, others say it is just a day to celebrate women and their impact in the world, not just in the U.S. where Trump is the president.

Overall, many consider March 8th to be a very special day which does not only resist certain political leaders, but celebrates women all around the globe. I wish I could have participated, but I am proud to see women from everywhere join together and honor their hard work.